The Porsche and Piech families are now again the sole shareholders of Porsche Automobil Holding SE. That company is the largest single shareholder of Volkswagen AG, which in turn manufactures the Porsche luxury cars.

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, had bought the stake four years ago when a Porsche takeover bid for much-larger Volkswagen collapsed amid overly high debt. VW eventually turned the tables and took over Porsche instead.

Qatar's fund continues to own a stake in VW, Europe's biggest carmaker.